Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Yankees Lose Tough One

TWINS 7, YANKEES 5at Tampa, Fla.Wednesday, March 5

Twins at the plate: Delmon Young blasted a long solo homer in the second inning off the black batter's eye beyond the 408-foot mark in center field. Garrett Jones slugged a two-run homer in the fifth inning off the party deck in right field, his first of the spring. Alexi Casilla singled to tie the game at 4 in the seventh, and with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth, Alejandro Machado broke the tie with a two-run double down the right-field line.

Yankees at the plate: Robinson Cano and Wilson Betemit smacked back-to-back doubles to center field in the second inning to drive home New York's first run. Melky Cabrera and Bobby Abreu also had run-scoring hits in the frame, and Cano drove home Jason Giambi with the Yankees' fourth run in the third inning. Cano finished the day 3-for-3, raising his Grapefruit League batting average to .700. Shelley Duncan hit a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth to increase his Grapefruit League RBI total to nine.

Twins on the mound: Kevin Slowey allowed three runs in the second inning and five hits in his 41-pitch, 28-strike outing, walking two and striking out three while throwing a wild pitch. Minnesota's Minor League Pitcher of the Year for 2007, Slowey has allowed six runs and nine hits in two Grapefruit League appearances. Julio DePaula allowed a run on two hits in the third inning.

Yankees on the mound: Ian Kennedy allowed one run -- the Young home run -- on two hits in two innings, throwing 33 pitches (19 strikes) in his first effort against big league competition this spring. Lefty Heath Phillips retired the side in his inning of work, but Joba Chamberlain served up a long two-run homer to Jones in the fifth, the only run-scoring blemish on his two innings. Jonathan Albaladejo struck out one in a scoreless sixth but surrendered the tying run in the seventh. Edwar Ramirez got the final out of the seventh inning but surrendered three runs in the eighth to give the Twins the lead for good.

Up next: The Twins will host the Orioles at 1:05 p.m. ET on Thursday at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla. Outfielder Craig Monroe could make his first game appearance in a week after being sidelined with a strained muscle in his lower left leg. Right-hander Livan Hernandez will get the start for the Twins as he faces off against Orioles right-hander Daniel Cabrera.

The Yankees will hit the road on Thursday to meet the Reds in Sarasota, Fla. Right-hander Chien-Ming Wang will make his second start of the spring, matching up with right-hander Aaron Harang. Darrell Rasner, Kyle Farnsworth, Sean Henn, Chris Britton and Jose Veras will also pitch for New York. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.